THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST POLICY FOR THE CALCULATION OF ANNUAL LEAVE & BANK HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS

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1 THE NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST POLICY FOR THE CALCULATION OF ANNUAL LEAVE & BANK HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS Effective From: 1 October 2004 Review Date: 30 September Introduction This document sets out the Trust s policy for the calculation of annual leave and general public holiday entitlements for all employees excluding Medical & Dental staff. Further information about the Trust s terms and conditions in respect of annual leave, such as entitlements and additional leave for long service, can be found in the Agenda for Change: NHS Terms & Conditions of Service Handbook. 2. Calculation of Entitlement to Annual Leave and Bank Holidays 2.1 General a) The annual leave year starts on 1 April and ends on 31 March each year. b) Annual leave entitlements are as follows: Length of Service On appointment After 5 years service After 10 years service Annual Leave Entitlement 27 days 29 days 33 days c) In addition to the above, there are a total of *eight general public holidays in a leave year. Entitlement is dependent on the number of hours/days normally worked per week. (* Easter falls at a different date each year either March or April. These months fall in the same leave year, therefore when Easter falls both in April and March (e.g. year 2008) there will be ten public holidays in that leave year and six in the following year. This will not affect employees who generally work Monday to Friday and take public holidays when they fall. For other employees, managers will need to ensure calculations are based on the actual number of public holidays in the period. This also applies to individuals who join or leave the Trust partway through a leave year). d) Employees can consolidate their annual leave and general public holiday entitlement into a single total amount provided their line manager agrees this. e) Annual leave and general public holiday entitlement can be calculated in either days or hours depending on which is more appropriate. For example, calculations in days can be better suited to employees who work regular fixed shifts e.g. Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm. Calculations in hours can be more appropriate for employees who work more flexibly e.g. variable long and short shifts. 1

2 To calculate leave and/or public holiday entitlements, please refer to the ready reckoner tables at the back of this policy. f) Employees who work part-time and Job Sharers shall receive entitlement to annual leave and general public holidays on a pro-rata basis to full timers based on the number of days or hours they normally work. This is regardless of whether or not an employee works fixed days, or normally works on days that are not general public holidays e.g. weekends. g) Calculations in days shall be rounded up or down to the nearest half-day e.g. 1.2 = 1 day, 1.3 = 1½ days. h) Calculations in hours shall be rounded up or down to the nearest half hour e.g. 1.3 = 1½ hours, 1.8 = 2 hours. 2.2 Starters Recruited from the NHS a) New employees shall receive a pro-rata entitlement for the leave year in which they start according to the number of complete months remaining in that year. For example, an employee starting on 1 January shall be entitled to three twelfths of a full year for period 1 January to 31 March. b) New employees who start after the 1 st of the month shall receive a proportion for that month as follows: Start Date Entitlement 1 st to 10 th day full month 11 th to 20 th day half a month 21 st day onwards no entitlement 2.3 Starters Recruited from Outside the NHS a) New employees shall receive an entitlement for the leave year in which they start according to the number of complete months remaining in that year. For example, an employee starting on 1 January shall be entitled to three twelfths of a full year for period 1 January to 31 March. b) New employees who start after the 1 st of the month shall have no entitlement for that particular month unless this date falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday. In these cases, employees shall receive entitlement for a full month. For example, an employee starting on Monday 3 rd January shall be entitled to three twelfths of a full year for period 3 January to 31 March. 2.4 Employees on Temporary/Fixed-Term Contracts Temporary/fixed-term employees shall receive an entitlement to annual leave and general public holidays on a pro-rata basis according to the number of complete months falling between the calendar start and end dates of their employment. 2

3 For example, Period of Employment Entitlement 15 November to 31 December = 1 month entitlement 1 April to 17 August = 4 months 12 May to 11 January = 7 months 2.5 Additional Annual Leave for Long Service Additional annual leave entitlement is accrued after five and ten years service in accordance with the Agenda for Change: NHS Terms & Conditions of Service Handbook. For further details, please ask your line manager or contact the Personnel Department. 2.6 Employees Leaving to Work for Another NHS Employer a) Employees leaving the Trust but staying to work in the NHS shall receive a pro-rata entitlement for the leave year in which their employment is terminated according to the number of complete months worked in that year. For example, an employee leaving on 30 September is entitled to six twelfths of a full year for period April to September. b) Employees who leave before the last day of the month shall receive a proportion for that month as follows: - leaving date 1 st to 10 th day = no entitlement - leaving date 11 th to 20 th day = half a month - leaving date 21 st day onwards = full month 2.7 Employees Leaving the NHS a) Employees leaving the Trust and the NHS shall receive a pro-rata entitlement for the leave year in which their employment is terminated according to the number of complete months worked in that year. For example, an employee who was employed at 1 April and leaves on 30 September shall be entitled to six twelfths of a full year for period April to September. b) Employees who terminate their employment before the last day of the month shall have no entitlement for that particular month. For example, an employee who was employed at 1 April and leaves on 17 September shall be entitled to five twelfths of a full year for period April to August only. 2.8 Unpaid Leave (All Staff) a) Annual leave shall not accrue during periods of unpaid leave in accordance with the following table: Amount of Unpaid Leave Deduction from Annual Leave Less than 2 weeks No deduction 2-4 weeks Half a month 4-6 weeks One month 3

4 6-8 weeks One and a half months 8-10 weeks Two months weeks Two and a half months b) Periods greater than those stated above will amount to a reduction on the basis of half a month for each further two-week period. c) General public holidays shall not accrue during periods of unpaid leave. If a general public holiday falls during such leave it shall be deducted from entitlement. 2.9 Bank Nurses a) Bank nurses are entitled to paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations A local agreement is in place in respect of this that provides all eligible Bank Nurses with a payment of 8.33% of earnings i.e. basic plus any shift premiums/enhancements. b) To be eligible for payment, a Bank Nurse must have been continuously employed by the Trust for 4 weeks. (See WTR Local Agreement, Section 7 for further details). 3. Manager s Responsibilities 3.1 Managers must ensure that employees receive their correct entitlement to annual leave and general public holidays. a) Changes When employees change: - the number of contract hours they work, or - their shifts in any way that affects their annual leave entitlement (e.g. change from long shifts to short shifts, or from two days per week to four, etc), or - their job within the Trust managers must ensure that the correct amount of leave entitlement applicable before and after the date of change is taken. In situations where the exact amount of leave before a change has not been taken, the following rules will apply: Reduction in hours Any leave outstanding/overtaken at the date of change, will be added/deducted to/from the entitlement applying after the date of change on a proportional basis to that change. For example, If a full timer (37½ hours) changes to half-time (18¾ hours) and has undertaken on his/her full time entitlement by one week at the date of change, this will be carried forward as one week of 18¾ hours to be taken as a half-timer in addition to any other leave entitlement for that post. Alternatively, if one full time week had been overtaken, one of the following will occur: - the half-time entitlement will be less two weeks (i.e. equivalent to the full time week overtaken), or 4

5 - an appropriate deduction from salary will be made, or - the hours can be made up by the employee over a period of time subject to the approval of his/her manager Increase in hours Any leave outstanding/overtaken at the date of change, will be added/deducted to/from the entitlement applying after the date of change on a proportional basis to that change. For example, If a half-timer (18¾ hours) changes to full time (37½ hours) and has undertaken on his/her half-time entitlement by one week by the date of change, this will be carried forward as one week of 18¾ hours to be taken as a full timer in addition to any other leave entitlement for that post. Alternatively, if one half-time week had been overtaken, one of the following will occur: b) Leavers 4. No Detriment - the full time entitlement will be less 18¾ hours (equivalent to the half-time week overtaken), or - an appropriate deduction from salary will be made, or - the hours can be made up by the employee over a period of time subject to the approval of his/her manager Managers must notify the Personnel Department of all employee resignations as soon as they are known to ensure that the appropriate arrangements are made for the termination of their employment. This includes liaison with Personnel to verify the employee s leave entitlement and notify the total number of days/hours taken to ensure the correct payments/deductions are made to the employee s final salary. This policy has been agreed with Staff Side on the basis that it will be implemented without detriment to current employees. 5. Policy Review The Personnel Manager is responsible for the review and amendment of this policy. 5